Ali ten Hove and Mariah Millen back in action with an 8th-place result at 4th Portugal Grand Prix

Meanwhile, 13 other young Canadian sailors gain valuable international experience at the 2021 Youth Sailing World Championships © Sander van der Borch / Lloyd Images & Joao Costa Ferreira

Canadian Sailing Olympians Ali ten Hove and Mariah Millen took eighth spot Friday in the 49er FX event at the 4th Portugal Grand Prix in Vilamoura, as they competed for the first time since the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, while 13 young Canadian sailors completed their last day at a major international event, the 2021 Youth Sailing World Championships in Oman.

On the last day of the 4th Portugal Grand Prix that kicked off on Tuesday, Ali ten Hove and Mariah Millen finished the competition on a high note with two second-place results and one third-place finish on the 12th and last day of racing at the competition.

"We had so much fun sailing this week," said the two members of the Canadian team that finished 16th at the 2020 Olympic Games. "It was our first time back on the water since Tokyo and we were loving it. We had to shake some rust off and we felt sore after strong wind sailing for all four days, but we finished up with the biggest smile on our faces. We are so stoked to be back and be able to start working towards our goal for Paris 2024!"

2021 Youth Sailing World Championships

Meanwhile, 13 young Canadian sailors saw their presence at a major international event come to an end on the last day of the 2021 Youth Sailing World Championships, held in Oman. The event, which kicked off on Monday, was attended by a total of 433 sailors between the ages of 12 and 19 as of December 31, 2021. They represented 56 nations and competed in 11 events.

Highlights from the Canadian team included:

2nd position in race #5 in the Female ILCA 6 class by Annalise Balasubramanian;
3rd position in race #7 by sisters Riley and Finlay Macaulay in Female i420;
6th place finish in race #5 in the Female 29er by Grace Poole and Jessica Hirschbold;
7th and 8th place finishes in races #3 and #7, respectively, by Jackson Macaulay and Andreas Steinitz in Male 29er;
7th position in race #4 in the Male ILCA 6 class by Nathan Lafka.

"I am very happy about my performance, this is the first big international regatta I've been to since the start of the pandemic," said Annalise Balasubramanian. "I feel great about where I placed overall and I have learned so much about starting and sailing in a big intense fleet."

"We are very happy with our performance, especially considering that we placed third in one of our races, which was a big highlight," commented Riley and Finlay Macaulay. "We know we could have done better but, overall, we had a great time and it was a super fun experience - the experience of a lifetime. We learned so much!"

Canadian results at the 2021 Youth Sailing World Championships

22/46 - Female ILCA 6 (Laser Radial)

Annalise Balasubramanian (Toronto, ON-RCYC & Ontario Sailing Team)
(R1: 30 / R2: BFD / R3: 18 / R4: 11 / R5: 2 / R6: 19 / R7: 27 / R8: 8 / R9: 33)

24/50 - Male ILCA 6 (Laser Radial)

Nathan Latka (Toronto, ON-ABYC & Ontario Sailing Team)
(R1: 27 / R2: 27 / R3: 37 / R4: 7 / R5: 27 / R6: 29 / R7: 26 / R8: 28 / R9: 15)

21/24 - Male 29er

Jackson Macaulay (Halifax, NS-RNSYS)
Andreas Steinitz (Carrying Place, ON-RNSYS)
(R1: 16 / R2: 21 / R3: 7 / R4: 24 / R5: 12 / R6: 14 / R7: 8 / R8: 19 / R9: 22 / R10: 14 / R11: 20 / R12: 19 / R13: 19)

20/24 - Male i420

Luke Strickland (Ottawa, ON-Nepean Sailing Club)
Christian Voyer (Ottawa, ON-Nepean Sailing Club)
(R1: 21 / R2: 19 / R3: 18 / R4: 19 / R5: 21 / R6: UFD / R7: 15 / R8: 20 / R9: 20)

16/16 - Male Kiteboarding

Tayne Steven (Rossland, BC, Interior Kiteboarding and Windsurfing Society)
(R1: NSC / R2: 16 / R3: 15 / R4: 14 / R5: 13 / R6: 16 / R7: 15 / R8: RET / R9: 14 / R10: 16 / R11: 15 / R12: 15 / R13: DNF / R14: 16 / R15: 14 / R16: 16 / R17: 15 / R18: 16)

18/18 - Female 29er

Grace Poole (Victoria, BC-RVYC)
Jessica Hirschbold (Victoria, BC-RVYC)
(R1: 18 / R2: 14 / R3: UFD / R4: 14 / R5: 6 / R6: BFD / R7: 17 / R8: 11 / R9: 18 / / R10: 17 / R11: 17 / R12: 16 / R13: 18)

19/19 - Female i420

Riley Macaulay (Halifax, NS-RNSYS)
Finlay Macaulay (Halifax, NS-RNSYS)
(R1: 18 / R2: 17 / R3: 19 / R4: UFD / R5: 16 / R6: 19 / R7: 3 / R8: 19 / R9: UFD)

11/11 - Mixed Nacra

Maya Heidenreich (Halifax, NS-RNSYS)
Noah Adler (Lower Prospect, NS-RNSYS)
(R1: 11 / R2: 10 / R3: 11 / R4: 12-DNF / R5: 11 / R6: 11 / R7: 11 / R8: 10 / R9: 11 / R10: 10 / R11: 11 / R12: 9 / R13: 11)

More information can be found on Sail Canada's website at www.sailing.ca